★★★★★
Thelonious Monk once said, "Jazz is New York. You can feel it in the air." This is an observation that can be easily recast to produce another truism: "Salsa is New York. You can feel it in the streets." Both musics are integral to NYC culture and come together no more eloquently than they do in the musical persona of Latin jazz pianist Eddie Palmieri...
- www.allaboutjazz.com
2010-08-20
★★★★★
Eddie Palmieri's current refashioning of the 40-plus-year-old style that started his career as a leader with the group La Perfecta enters its second phase with this release. After last year's La Perfecta II, the pianist returns with further bravura and street-smart upmanship, mashed into nastified riff-laden arrangements featuring plenty of abandon, grandeur and harmonically dark and heavy left-hand playing...
- www.jazztimes.com
2010-02-19
★★★★★
After revisiting his legendary Nuyorican songbook for La Perfecta II and Ritmo Caliente, 68-year-old pianist Eddie Palmieri takes on four compositions by his jazz heroes and adds six of his own Latin-jazz pieces to fill out Listen Here...
- www.jazztimes.com
2010-02-19
★★★★★
Like Milton Nascimento and Astor Piazzolla, Palmieri enjoys a prestige based on his pretensions as well as his talent. Check 1974's pivotal The Sun of Latin Music and notice how many bases it touches. To list the obvious, there's a full-fledged suite; pianistics that recall Monk, Tyner, even Cecil Taylor; a snatch of Abbey Road; a conga workout; a salsa tour; a simple cumbia arted up with a bass-and-piano break; and--crucially--enough cheese...
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
Regina Carter and David Sanchez help more than they should have to ("In Flight," "In Walked Bud").
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
On Ritmo Caliente the East Harlem-born bandleader and pianist revisits salsa roots with another twist. The La Perfecta 2 collection, with the newly reunited trombone-heavy La Perfecta, mixed his 1960s hits with original compositions incorporating R&B, rock and improvisation. Now, on Ritmo, Palmieri adds a classical touch. Other influences poke through: Palmieri quotes Dizzy Gillespie on "Ritmo Caliente" and tinkles amiably through a jazz-blues romp, "Tema Para Renee...
- www.globalrhythm.com
2009-06-12
★★★★★
Timing is everything. When Concord Records executive producer John Burk signed Eddie Palmieri to the label, not only was Palmieri at the brink of a resurgence in popularity, but also he finally was convinced to revisit his well-remembered band from the 1960's, La Perfecta, despite his previous reluctance to do so. All of a sudden, Eddie Palmieri made up for lost time, and La Perfecta II was met with widespread critical plaudits...
- www.jazzreview.com
2009-06-08
★★★★★
It took Eddie Palmieri a long time to agree to record his La Perfecta band again. After all, the group hadn't recorded since the 1960's, and Palmieri felt that he couldn't re-create the sound of his conjunto without the participation of the co-founder, Barry Rogers, who died in 1991. But Palmieri's respect for, and trust in, trombonist Conrad Herwig gave him confidence that such a re-creation could be possible, after all...
- www.jazzreview.com
2009-06-08
★★★★★
It is always good to hear Eddie Palmieri's piano musings, and once again, his superb performances come to the listening audience in his CD release, LA PERFECTA II. The collection has 11 song selections that highlight the jazz piano stylings of Eddie Palmieri. Brian Lynch on trumpet and Conrad Herwig on trombone are some of the fine musicians who add splendid solo work on these songs...
- www.jazzreview.com
2009-06-07
Loading...
